The Clock Ticks Life Away
by atelophobic-errorist
Summary: My younger sister and I never knew our parents. They abandoned us. We both lived on the street for almost our entire lives. But while cleaning a woman's library, we found a book that taught us about alchemy. When we looked in that book, we had no idea how much alchemy would change our lifes. Ed/OC and Al/OC.


**Hello everyone! I'm starting my first FMA story, so I hope you guys like it!**

 **Disclaimer: Fullmetal Alchemist belongs to Hiromu Arakawa. I only own my OCs, and the plot/idea of this story.**

* * *

 _ **One thing I don't know why**_

 _ **It doesn't even matter how hard you try**_

 _ **Keep that in mind, I designed this rhyme**_

 _ **To explain in due time**_

 _ **All I know**_

 _ **Time is a valuable thing**_

 _ **Watch it fly by as the pendulum swings**_

 _ **Watch it count down to the end of the day**_

 _ **The clock ticks life away**_

 _ **It's so unreal**_

 _ **Didn't look out below**_

 _ **Watch the time go right out the window**_

 _ **Trying to hold on but didn't even know**_

 _ **I wasted it all just to watch you go**_

 _ **I kept everything inside and even though I tried, it all fell apart**_

 _ **What it meant to me will eventually be a memory of a time when...**_

 _ **I tried so hard**_

 _ **And got so far**_

 _ **But in the end**_

 _ **It doesn't even matter**_

 _ **I had to fall**_

 _ **To lose it all**_

 _ **But in the end**_

 _ **It doesn't even matter**_

 _ **Linkin Park - In the End**_

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 _ **Chapter One - My Story on Page One**_

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Do you know the saying 'things get the darkest before dawn'? It's a famous saying, meaning that when things get their darkest, you'll find light along the way. Many people have made it their quote to live by.

But God always loves to mess with people's lives.

Some people have it all, a loving family, friends, a great home, and they think their life couldn't be better.

Those people disgust me.

Then there's others, with neglecting or abusive parents, some with no parents at all, no friends with a shoulder you can cry on, no home, and little or no other family.

People like my sister and I.

Me and my sister Iris, we never knew our parents. They didn't walk out on us, they just...left us on the street. After Iris was born, I guess they just didn't want us anymore. I don't remember anything from age one, not even our parents' faces. When someone found us, they must've taken us to the nearest foster home.

We were with multiple families, but none of them wanted us. Mostly because of me. I was a bitter, cold person, and I still am to this day. I only cared for one person: Iris. I would always ruin our chance for a family with my attitude. When the family we stayed with yelled at or raised a hand to her, I would yell at or hit them back.

I would always beg them to keep Iris, but she would say 'no' and stay with me. I didn't give a crap about myself, I only cared for Iris's safety.

But by the time I was ten and Iris was nine, the foster home we stayed at kicked us out altogether, leaving us on our own. We were trying our best to get some money for food and clothes, usually by doing chores for _complete strangers_. I even resorted to being pick-pocket, to Iris's dismay.

One day, we were cleaning the library of a old woman named Elisa, one of our regular clients, when I heard Iris cry out, "Hey Willow, look at this!"

I ran over to her side and asked, "What is it?"

She held up a brown, dusty book titled 'Alchemy'. "I looked through this book a bit. It's about this thing called 'alchemy'."

"I saw the cover, Iris. I know. But what is it?"

"It's a kind of science. With it, you can get almost anything you want, just by drawing a circle! They call it 'transmutation'."

I took the book from her hands and flipped through it. "That sounds pretty cool..."

Iris cheered. "I know! You can even bring the dead back to life!"

My eyes widened. "Seriously? Holy crap..."

"It's called 'human transmutation'. But the book said that you should never, ever attempt to use it, or you'll pay the price."

"I wasn't planning to," I murmured, only loud enough for me to hear, "don't have anyone to bring back anyway..."

"Did you say something, Willow?"

"Ah, no."

Iris asked Elisa if we could keep the book, and she said we could as a gift, much to Iris's delight.

For the next couple years, Iris and I studied alchemy. Iris learned that the thing she could transmutate the best was crystals. She could transmutate anything crystal with ease, crystal weapons, crystal furniture, even crystal telephones...

I learned I could transmutate weapons the best, mostly blades. One day, I transmutated a sterling silver katana that I instantly fell in love with. I still have it, to be honest.

Iris and I lived in a town where there wasn't much alchemy, so we started going around transmutating broken things back together for some cash. We actually made a lot of money.

After a while, I became more tomboyish. I hardly ever wore woman's clothing, and l even decided to go by the alias "Rae" when I realized how "weird and girly" my real name was. I still call myself that...even when I'm greeting new people, I use it. I haven't used my real name in so long, my alias feels like my real name.

Iris was definitely more feminine than me. She actually _enjoyed_ wearing dresses and skirts while I almost grimaced at the sight of them.

Anyway, when I was thirteen and Iris was twelve, we learned about State Alchemists. Iris told me (to be honest, I think alchemy is her fetish or something...) that they work for the military.

I always wanted to be in the military, ever since I six. I thought that saving lifes and helping people would be awesome. Eh, I guess I was kind of right...

Iris really wanted to become a State Alchemist, because, in her exact words, "It's being in the freaking _military_ and with alchemy! How is that not the best job ever?!"

She had the same dream as me, apparently...

Iris and I later decided to take the State Alchemist test at Central Headquarters.

But before I start on that, my name is Willow "Rae" Saunders, and this is my story of my adventures, heartbreaking moments in life, and my sister and I falling in love along the way.

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 **And there's chapter one! Hope you guys like it.**

 **I hope I didn't make Rae and Iris Mary-Sueish, but it really hard for me to a story without at least one depressing moment. Ugh...**

 **Anyway, I'll see you in the next chapter or in my other stories!**


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